Trump administration

The Trump Administration has announced a plan to open up California waters to offshore oil exploration and drilling. Intending to replace a current plan in place through 2022, the U.S. Department of the Interior said it will release a new draft proposal for offshore lease sales starting in 2019.

On Saturday - July 1 - in San Luis Obispo, a rally is planned calling for the protection of the Carrizo Plain National Monument. Former Central Coast congresswoman Lois Capps, current congressman Salud Carbajal and several community leaders say they will gather to bring attention to the Trump administration’s current effort to revoke protective status for 27 national monuments around the U.S.

On Tuesday, independent movie houses on the Central Coast - and across the country - are all screening the film "1984," a cinematic version of George Orwell's 1949 novel. Organizers of the synchronized screenings say it's to promote discussion of the film’s fictitious events compared and contrasted with the reality of today’s political climate.